Fodder sprouting systems, anyone?
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OneAcreFarm
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Frecs
Well-known member
mystang89":1bz2az9y said:
Since we may have a terminology problem:
I am reading your word "tote" as being the same as what I would call a "bucket".
A "flat" is like a tray with sides -- often used for seed starting in nurseries....or I use the "saucers" sold with planters to catch water drainage...nice and flat with raised sides.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Maybe this will help....
Tote or bucket
Flat or tray of soaked grain
Flat or tray of fodder
Tote or bucket
Flat or tray of soaked grain
Flat or tray of fodder
OneAcreFarm":130myvte said:
lol, Thank you all for that, it was my fault for messing up the terminology which is where the problem lay. I understand what everyone is saying now.
OAF - thanks for the link. I saved it in my bookmarks.
I do believe I will try this. I think it would be nice to save money and the kids might like it too. Plus, if it really does have all those benefits to it and is as easy as they make it sound I think it will be worth it, especially if we have a winter/summer like we had last year.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 10:19 am __________<br /><br />I was going to try with barley seeds but I didn't know there were different types of barley seeds. What type of barley seeds would be best to use? I will have to order it online because non of the seed companies around here have any barley and are almost out of oats.
Would oats be a good thing to grow or would it not be nutritious enough.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
My understanding is that barley is the best nutrition wise, but oats and wheat are good too. You just want whole barley, whole wheat berries or whole oats.
Frecs
Well-known member
mystang89":19zzpx6h said:
If you order Barley online, the shipping is going to make it quite expensive. I had to do quite a bit of searching, but was finally able to find an almost-local feed mill that has whole wheat berries (feed grade) that I could order through a very local feed store that carries that mill's feed. So, I was able to get 50 pounds of wheat (very excellent wheat) for $14.50. They were not able to supply whole barley (they use barley but either they don't get enough to sell separate or it comes to them broken I'm not sure exactly which). This mill is called Coker's Feed Mill, in Goldsboro NC. You are in Kentucky, right? You may need to google search for a feed mill in Kentucky. You will want to look for a "real mill" --- one that sells feed they have milled.
Now I have questions about the barley. Since I'm not an expert on seeds I need some more help and since I'm going to have to order this stuff online I need to make sure I get the right stuff. On doing some barley research I found a few websites saying what different things about barley.
1.)http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/barleytypes.htm
This one is saying that Hulled barley is known as whole wheat barley.
2.) http://www.healthbanquet.com/barley-not-sprouting.html
This one is saying that Hulled barley or whole barley is the same as pearled barley and that whole barley will not sprout because the outer layer has been removed.
3.) http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-hulled-vs-97116
This is saying there is a difference between the two as well.
So I'm slightly confused.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:45 am __________<br /><br />I called over 40 seed companies in the kentucky/Indiana area and not one of them sold any barley. What happened? Did barley go on strike?
1.)http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/barleytypes.htm
This one is saying that Hulled barley is known as whole wheat barley.
2.) http://www.healthbanquet.com/barley-not-sprouting.html
This one is saying that Hulled barley or whole barley is the same as pearled barley and that whole barley will not sprout because the outer layer has been removed.
3.) http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-hulled-vs-97116
This is saying there is a difference between the two as well.
So I'm slightly confused.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:45 am __________<br /><br />I called over 40 seed companies in the kentucky/Indiana area and not one of them sold any barley. What happened? Did barley go on strike?
Frecs
Well-known member
mystang89":2psdz63t said:
Stop calling seed companies, and start calling feed mills.
Pearled barley is kinda like white rice -- the outer coating has been removed. Hulled Barley has had the hull removed but the outer coating is still there. But, you are right, there is a lot of folks using the terms loosely and it gets confusing. I don't know about the sproutability of hulled barley...it probably will. Pearled will not sprout, period. Barley for planting is probably with the hull but I could be wrong.
Your best bet is with feed mills or maybe with seed companies that supply to large farms but that will require buying large quantities. Feed mills is the best option. I can only get wheatberries but that is working well. Oats are a royal PITA. I wouldn't even bother with oats.
The feed companies and seed companies where all part of the calling that I did. 
I've come to the conclusion that Kentucky and Indiana do not have Barley and you are correct, buying online is WAY over priced. I think for a 50 lb bag it was around $60.
I've come to the conclusion that Kentucky and Indiana do not have Barley and you are correct, buying online is WAY over priced. I think for a 50 lb bag it was around $60.Frecs
Well-known member
Just had a thought -- have you tried calling beer breweries? They use barley for beer, right? Perhaps you can buy some from them?
I hadn't thought of that, I will give it a shot. Thanks
__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:25 pm __________
All the breweries around here seems to have their barley shipped to them already malted. Malted barley isn't able to be sown again from what I've read because the process of germination was halted either by drying or by roasting.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:24 pm __________<br /><br />....75...I called 75 people today and non of them had barley. I'm going to take this as a sign that I am not meant to buy barley right now.
__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:25 pm __________
All the breweries around here seems to have their barley shipped to them already malted. Malted barley isn't able to be sown again from what I've read because the process of germination was halted either by drying or by roasting.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:24 pm __________<br /><br />....75...I called 75 people today and non of them had barley. I'm going to take this as a sign that I am not meant to buy barley right now.
Frecs
Well-known member
While you were asking for barley, did you go ahead and ask about wheat? winter wheat, or "feeder grade" wheat (the latter being the least expensive)?
Frecs
Well-known member
Winter Wheat (aka hard wheat) is very nutritious but in a different way than Barley. For rabbits, barley would be the better of the two if we had a choice but since we don't...wheat will do nicely. For chickens...I've been told by some organic chicken folks that chickens can't digest barley so since I'm giving leftovers to the chickens, it is probably good that I'm using wheat instead.
Eventually, I want to also do sunflower sprouts and add flax to the wheatgrass mix. Then, we'll be moving into even better fodder.
Eventually, I want to also do sunflower sprouts and add flax to the wheatgrass mix. Then, we'll be moving into even better fodder.
Thanks Frecs. I think I will try the Winter Wheat and start feeding them that. Is there anything else you need to feed the rabbits besides the fodder? It's hard to wrap my head around the theory that I could actually save myself money.....although any money I saved would probably just go to buying another rabbit lol.
Frecs
Well-known member
Hay is still needed. My understanding is that the fodder and hay will make a basic diet for rabbits. But, you can also add other forage for them in the form of edible weeds, garden scraps/leftovers/plant materials, edible tree material, etc etc.
And, it goes without saying that the reason we are saving money is so we can afford more rabbits! ;-)
And, it goes without saying that the reason we are saving money is so we can afford more rabbits! ;-)
Ok, so now I'm starting my hydroponics project and need to know some of the "why" questions.
Why do the seeds need the light bulb? Is it because of heat or light? How much light do they need? 24 hours? a few hours? Normal daylight?
Why do the seeds need the light bulb? Is it because of heat or light? How much light do they need? 24 hours? a few hours? Normal daylight?
Frecs
Well-known member
Many of the websites I read said that the sprouts don't need light to grow. I found that while they don't need much light, they definitely need light to grow and get good green color. I put mine by a window after a few days so they get several days of light from the window.
I guess you might find light bulbs helpful to provide heat depending on the ambient temps of the room.
I guess you might find light bulbs helpful to provide heat depending on the ambient temps of the room.
Cool, thanks Frec. I didn't really want to leave a light on all day or anything like that and if it was just for heat I could put it next to the fire place. I think I might do like you though and put them next to the window for a bit.<br /><br />__________ Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:48 pm __________<br /><br />How about the watering? I looked up on this http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/faq.asp#How_often_do_I_water_in_an_ebb_flowwebsite and it talked about the ebb and flow system. They say the ebb and flow system is when you saturate the seeds with a nutrient solution. Is water considered a nutrient solution? In my mind it would be since it is nutritious for the plant but then I also think of stuff like miracle grow etc. On the website it says to water until the plants are completely submerged. Is that accurate?
